Brennan Curi was drawn to UVA McIntire’s M.S. in Global Commerce (MSGC) Program for its international focus and the experiences it could give him. The Manassas, VA, native, who earned his undergraduate degree in Human Resources Management from Virginia Tech, gained early professional experience through part-time roles after graduation, but he knew he wanted to elevate his skill set by pursuing a master’s degree.
As a first-generation student whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Peru, Brennan saw global exposure as both personally meaningful and professionally necessary.
“I don’t think my family ever had access to [global opportunities] before. I wanted to expand myself beyond just the United States,” he recalls, being drawn to learn more about other countries, their cultures, and the businesses that thrive there.
He was looking for the right academic fit and found it at McIntire. The nine-month MSGC program quickly challenged him in ways that differed from his undergraduate experience.
“Graduate school is definitely a higher level of workload,” he explains, noting that readings and class discussions carry more weight. “It’s really essential not only just to have that in mind, but also to engage with the conversation and participate in what we’re talking about.”
Impactful Learning and Real-World Business Decisions
For Brennan, some of the highlights of the MSGC thus far have included making clear connections between his coursework and the program’s applied projects, particularly the Social Impact Project (SIP), which connects students with mission-driven organizations facing real strategic challenges.
As a collaborative effort for their SIP, Brennan and his team are working with OceanSole, a Kenya-based social enterprise that transforms discarded flip-flops and other waste collected from the ocean into sustainable art and products. Brennan helped coordinate a working session with OceanSole’s CEO Erin Smith (M.S. in MIT ’04) as part of the project, giving the team direct access to leadership and a clearer understanding of the company’s vision and constraints.
Brennan Curi at Hamburg City Hall
“We were able to write down important details from that conversation and communicate updates back to [MSGC partner school] ESMT [Berlin], especially as we refined our approach and aligned on partnering organizations,” he explains.
The team’s objective is to identify the most promising country for OceanSole’s expansion and develop a strategy for successful market entry, balancing sustainability, operational feasibility, and long-term impact.
“It’s important for us to go out and have conversations with our clients,” Brennan says. “But we also have to have a foundational understanding of what we’re talking about when we have those conversations. That’s where the academic intersects with the real world.”
Several courses have also stood out. In International Consulting with McIntire Professor Paul Seaborn, Brennan worked on a real-world client project for Graduate by Hilton in Charlottesville, focusing on improving food and beverage revenue at the hotel.
“I really enjoyed that we got to work with an actual client,” he says, noting how engaging the project was, as opposed to what may have otherwise felt like laboring on a theoretical business problem with no real stakeholders.
He also pointed to his Business Analytics class with McIntire Professor David Schuff as unexpectedly rewarding. “I love working with data. I know for some people it’s not exciting, but I think it was fun,” he details, describing projects that involved cleaning datasets and building visualizations to accompany them.
Experiences in Berlin and Beyond
Brennan is particularly excited about the program’s Berlin component, held at ESMT in the spring semester. Having never studied in Europe, he sees the experience as critical to developing real global understanding.
“If you don’t live the experience, you’re not really going to get much information out of it,” he explains. “Living in Berlin will give me that global experience I need.”
Professionally, the program has helped clarify his interests in consulting and strategic human resources. After taking International Consulting, he discovered that he has a strong interest in organizational strategy.
“I am passionate about solving problems with confidence as well as efficiency, so I want to explore more opportunities in consulting,” he says. “But I also have a degree in Human Resource Management, and after talking with one of my professors, I realized that with the way AI technology is advancing in the field, there will be a need for professionals who focus on the strategic parts of HR. So those two career areas are definitely of interest for me, and I would like to explore more to see if I can find a career that combines both.”
Brennan also stresses the importance of communication, self-awareness, and using faculty and program leadership as resources. “They are here for a purpose. And that’s what ultimately is going to help us keep going in this program.”
Brennan Curi visits Richmond, VA
